The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1887-02-03
HON. JOHN H. REAGAN.
An Interesting Address by Senator
Reagan, the "Great In
terstater.'

| lnC DlbOA W hOdl bno OOuu Rcd-
gan, United States Senator elect, on the
questions of the day.
Judge Reagan was introduced by Hon.
George H. Pendleton, speaker of the
house of representatives. He commenced
by saying he hardly had Ian
guage to express his gratitude
for the honor which the
legislature had conferred upon him, and
which he could only hope to deserve in
the future by faithful and diligelt dis
charge of duly. 1t was his duty, he felt, to
testify how highly he appreciated this
honor. While the contest in the election
had been earnest he was grateful to be-
lieve that the friends of each of the can
didates for the position had
worked in an earnest and friendly
manner for success ana that the
struggle had been marked by degree of
kindly feeling and an absence of un-
friendliness on the part of the candidates
| themselves, as we'll as their supporters,
that has rarely marked such contests.
AS for his distinguished competitors he
desired to say there was no qualification
to him in their defeat.
Judge Reagan then proceeded to give
an elaborate review of various political
issues, showing that for seventy years the
wealth of the country had been
equally distributed, till disturbed by
class legislation and the power and i'm
positions of monopolies. The state of
things had changed, till now there were
hundreds of millions to where there were
but few before the war. Then we had
equal laws, justly administered for the
general good. What is the condition now?
In the last twenty five years we have seen
fortunes of ten, twenty, fifty, and
even hundreds of millions of
dollars, and, in few, over
two hundred millions of dollars rapidly
acquired. 1t was not possible for such
fortunes to be accum ulated in the life of
any person by any legitimate means of
speculations. And while these great for
tunes have been amassing tramps have
increased all over tine country. There
was a general depression of business and
the great body of the people had been
driven away from commercial centers. The
people have been compelled to make great
efforts to meet the increased burdens i'm
posed upon them, to pay their taxes and
preserve their rights and property from
grasping monopolists. This great in
eq uality resulting from class legislation
in the interest of corporate power, has
given rise to that political unrest to
which President Cleveland alluded in
his message on the labor question.
1t was this great political equality of
class legislation that had caused discon-
tent and the organization of political
parties. The granger movement was a
protest against robbery by monied power.
The national party, greenbaok party,
Farmers Alliances, and the labor party,
or Knights of Labor, were all
SO many forms of protest
ing against class legislation,
tending to enrich the few at the expense
of many. Where we have found them in
error we have claimed the privilege of
correcting them, and when I speak of
class legislation, l attend to that which
should most earnestly arrest our atten-
ton. Here Judge Reagan argued the
tariff question at considerable length,
using a mass of figures which it would
take more space than is at command to
give intelligently, but showing that hun
dreds of millions of dollars of interest
were annually imposed upon consumers.
The management, or rather mismanage-
ment,of our national finances, the bonded
Indebtedness of the government, the
abuses of land grants to railroads and the
specious devices of every kind of corpor-
ate power in controlling state and national
legislation, and perpetuating the force of
monopolies, were questions which Judge
Reagan discussed in very
earnest and effective manner,
eliciting frequent expressions of endorse
ment from parties in the audience. The
bonds of the government, which had been
issued to meet our necessities, had been
bought with deprecated paper money or
notes that didn't cost fifty cents on the
dollar, loading the people with
a debt OF over thousand
millions of dollars, which they we're
bound to pay. The reduction of the vol
ume of currency, and the cost of money
and the difficulty of paying the bonds in
coin before specie payment was resumed
had added not less than 750,000,000 more
to the public burdens. Over 100000
900 acres of land, enough for forty acre
homes for 100000 farmers have
been given to railroads. 1t was
not manly in the representatives of
the people to allow these abuses
of the powers and resources of the govern
ment, and when the democratic party
came into power they tried to get the for
fixture of these lands back to the govern
ment, and had succeeded to the extent of
about one hundred millions of acres. This
the party had done, though having as yet
only the president without the senate to
represent it, These and other questions
which the speaker discussed were all, he
said, important matters for legislation,
and man who could not understand and
grasp them was not fit to represent his
people.
Judge Reagan argued that the Farmers
Alliance and labor organizations, instead
of forming new parties, should join with
the democratic party of four and half
million voters, and help to elect the presi-
dent and repeal all obnoxious class legis-
lation. "Give the democratic party the
senate,'' he added, sand if it fails to benefit
the country hold it responsible, and 1 will
join you in holding it responsible" APP
plause.
The speaker reviewed the history of
railroad legislation In connection with his
own efforts ard the Interstate commerce
bill" which, with other measures he had
advocated, he felt, as he modestly added,
had entitled him to his American
citizenship. Applause. AS to
railroads, he was no enemy
to them. They should be protected for
the use of their money and the benefits